


tongue tied over three words

by gabgee



Series: college au [3]
Category: The Maze Runner (Movies), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Minho is a Little Shit, i really don't know what to tag ???, newt is freaking out over saying i love you, that's about it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-04-26 13:09:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14402793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gabgee/pseuds/gabgee
Summary: An insight into Newt and Thomas' relationship one month after it begins.





	tongue tied over three words

The spring sunshine beating down on them warmed Newt to his very insides. As cliche as it sounded, he was loving the sounds of birds singing and people laughing. He’d never considered himself a big fan of warm weather; it usually meant burning and sweating and avoiding hoards of children on the streets. But sitting on the grass by the lake with Thomas settled between his legs, Newt’s chest pressed up against his back, watching their friends paddle at the edge of the water? Yeah, Newt felt like he could get used to this.

“Oh, they’re gonna fall,” Thomas mumbled. Newt followed his line of sight and saw Brenda and Minho pushing each other playfully as Teresa tried to get as far away from their line of attack as possible. Gally and Frypan were a little further out, submerged up to their knees in the cool water.

“Most definitely,” Newt replied, placing a soft kiss into Thomas’ hair. Thomas let himself lean back even further until his head was resting on Newt’s shoulder, their cheeks pressed together.

“Hi,” Thomas said softly. Newt laughed and turned to kiss him again, this time on the corner of his mouth. Thomas’ smile widened. “For someone who doesn’t like PDA, you’re awfully affectionate.”

“Mmm,” Newt hummed, brushing his nose along Thomas’ cheekbone. “I’m coming round to it.”

“I’ll break you eventually.”

“Is that an offer?”

Thomas laughed and Newt could feel the vibrations of it against his chest and stomach. He couldn’t help but grin, too, watching Thomas’ eyes and nose crinkle in amusement.

“Jesus,” Minho said, breaking Newt out of his trance. He hadn’t even noticed him and Teresa come back over. The others still played at the water’s edge. “You guys are sickening.”

“Are you jealous, Minho? That’s cute,” Thomas replied. Newt felt a surge of pride at his sarcastic tone.

“Please,” Minho said dramatically. “I’m just tired of having to stop you from jumping each other in public.”

“That’s never happened,” Newt groaned with a roll of his eyes.

“Oh yeah? What about last week at Gally’s when I found you in the bathroom in a very compromising position?”

“You promised not to bring that up again!” Thomas whined.

“And _you_ promised to stop being gross and all over each other in my presence.”

“Leave them alone! They’re in love,” Teresa cooed.

Newt felt Thomas tense up against him and was sure he was doing the exact same.

“Are they? _Are you_?” Minho asked excitedly, sitting down in front of them. Teresa did the same.

“I don’t — let’s not — shut up,” Thomas stuttered at the same time as Newt said:

“None of your bloody business.”

“Ohhhhhhhhh,” Minho shouted with a grin. “You haven’t _talked_ about it yet, have you? The big ol’ 'L' word!”

“Minho, I swear to God—”

“I actually hate you—”

Minho continued to cackle at their discomfort and Newt looked at Teresa desperately. Unfortunately, it didn’t look like they’d be getting much help from her end. She was trying not to join in with Minho’s laughter.

“Oh, it’s okay, babies. It’s only been a month! You’ll know when the time is right,” Minho said, positively glowing with joy at being able to torture them so easily.

Thomas sat up abruptly and Newt immediately missed his comforting warmth. He glanced around at him apologetically before standing up, kicking Minho in the side and rushing off to join the others at the lake.

“You’re a twat,” Newt snapped at Minho. The smile fell from his face.

“I was joking! It’s not that big of a deal, is it?”

“Well, yeah, it is. Because now we _have_ to talk about it, don’t we? Would’ve rather gotten to that point in our own time,” Newt sighed, watching Thomas as he joined in with Brenda, Gally and Frypan’s conversation. Thomas’ eyes darted back towards him several times before he determinedly turned his back on them.

“Nah, c’mon Newt,” Teresa said softly. “Tom is the king of ignorance. You can just pretend it never happened.”

“Maybe.”

“But you don’t want to,” Minho whispered teasingly. “You wanna teeeell him.”

“What I _want_ is to kill you.”

He hoped the death glare he sent in Minho’s direction was enough to shut him up. Luckily, the others decided to rejoin them at that moment, Frypan complaining that if they left their picnic food any longer it’d go off. He and Gally unloaded the basket of food and passed around plates and cups, telling everyone to help themselves. 

Newt looked up and saw Thomas stood above him, looking hesitant. He reached up and pulled him down by his arm, laughing at the ungraceful way he fell to the ground.

Thomas met his eyes and grinned nervously. Newt leaned forwards, kissed him chastely and whispered against his mouth.

“Ignore him. Stop overthinking it.”

Newt’s eyes bored into Thomas’ until the latter sighed and nodded, not tearing his gaze away. Then someone asked if anyone wanted the breadsticks and his attention was quickly diverted.

 

“So, do you? Wanna tell him?” Minho asked as soon as he and Newt walked through the door of their apartment.

“Please drop it,” Newt snapped.

“C’mon, Newt! It’s me, you can tell _me_.” Minho bounced up and down on the spot like a little kid.

“I think it’d be really weird if I told you before I tell Tommy.”

“So you _are_ going to tell him?” Minho persisted.

Newt turned to him with a stern expression and was met with genuine curiosity on Minho’s part. The thing was, he did kind of want Minho’s advice on whether or not it was too early in the relationship to tell Thomas how he felt, but it somehow felt like betraying Thomas if he wasn’t the first to know.

Then again, Thomas would probably never find out Minho knew anything as long as Newt persuaded him not to spill the beans.

“Is it too soon?” Newt asked reluctantly, sitting down on the couch and shrugging his denim jacket off.

“Usually, I’d say yeah,” Minho replied seriously. “But you guys are different. You were friends first, you know each other well. I think… realistically, I think you’d know by now.”

Newt let out a deep breath. These rare moments of serious advice from Minho usually calmed him down, and today was no exception. Because although he and Thomas had only been together for a few weeks, he'd known how he felt going into this. They weren't dating experimentally, seeing whether or not things could go anywhere. They knew what they wanted and had fallen straight into a happy, committed relationship. Although things still felt  _new_ and exciting, it also had a sense of familiarity and belonging. Newt knew what he was doing when it came to Thomas, and vice versa, making transitioning from best friends to best friends who were a couple all the easier. 

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m gonna wait a little while, though. It’d be weird if I did it straight after what happened today, right?”

“Maybe. You don’t want it to seem forced.”

“Y’know, Minho,” Newt teased. “You’re pretty good at this stuff. Ever thought about doing couples counselling?”

“God, no.”

Newt laughed as Minho retreated into his room. Automatically, he checked his phone, hoping for a message from Thomas. He immediately cursed himself for being so damn clingy; they’d said goodbye less than one hour ago. Luckily, he didn’t have to feel disappointed.

 

 

**To: Newt**

**From: Tommy**

i miss you alreadyyyy

 

**To: Tommy**

**From: Newt**

Idiot. Wanna go for dinner somewhere nice tomorrow?

 

**To: Newt**

**From: Tommy**

only if it’s just us and only if you say you miss me too >:(

 

**To: Tommy**

**From: Newt**

You’re so needy. But yes and yes I miss you too

 

**To: Newt**

**From: Tommy**

i don’t think you mean that :’( prove it

 

**To: Tommy**

**From: Newt**

Let’s just say if you didn’t have to finish that essay tonight I’d be there already

 

**To: Newt**

**From: Tommy**

fuck don’t do that

 

**To: Tommy**

**From: Newt**

Do what, babe? ;-)

 

**To: Newt**

**From: Tommy**

no stop that right now you know i have no self control

 

**To: Tommy**

**From: Newt**

Hahaha sorry. Go be all brainy and I’ll see ya tomorrow x

 

**To: Newt**

**From: Tommy**

counting down the minutes BABE (totally not freaking out that you called me that)

 

**To: Tommy**

**From: Newt**

It was a joke (kind of) don’t get used to it

 

**To: Newt**

**From: Tommy**

you break my heart every day. talk to u later x

 

***

 

“Dinner? Can I come?”

“No.”

Newt stood in front of Minho, who was lying upside down at the foot of his bed with his head hanging off the edge. He’d come in for advice on which shirt to wear and instead gotten a billion questions about where he was going, who with, what time, how long he would be, and of course:

“Are you going to _say_ it?”

“Fuckin’ hell, you’re useless,” Newt muttered, turning on his heels and stalking out of the room.

“Wear the white button-up,” Minho called after him.

Newt hated himself for listening; but half an hour later, he flipped Minho off as he walked out of the apartment, wearing a loose white button-up shirt and black jeans.

He also hated how nervous he felt. His fingers tapped absentmindedly on the steering wheel for the whole drive to Thomas’ apartment. When he pulled up outside, he was vaguely surprised that he hadn’t hit anyone on the way, because he sure didn’t feel like he’d paid much attention to the roads.

It wasn’t like he had any reason to feel this way. He had been on plenty of dates with Thomas over the past month — they practically spent every day together. But knowing that Thomas might bring up yesterday’s conversation, or be expecting Newt to bring it up, was filling him with butterflies. He didn’t want it to happen this way; he wanted it to be natural.

Newt’s phone buzzed persistently, snapping him out of his daze.

“Hello?” Newt said without checking the caller ID.

“Are you just gonna sit outside in your car like a stalker?”

Newt let out a chuckle and looked up in the direction of Thomas’ apartment. He could just about make out his silhouette. He’d forgotten that the window faced out onto the car park.

“Well, since you know I’m here, why don’t you just come down?” Newt teased.

“I was waiting for you to knock on my door and shower me with gifts, but whatever. On my way.”

Newt laughed again as he hung up, all nervousness temporarily forgotten by the sound of Thomas’ voice. As usual.

He got out of the car and leaned against the bonnet, smirking to himself as he timed Thomas’ journey. Five minutes later, he appeared, striding over and doing a little skip on the way that made Newt kind of want to punch him and hug him at the same time.

“You need to stop saying you’re on your way when you’re really not,” Newt said in way of greeting once Thomas was within hearing distance.

“And _you_ need to stop looking so fucking hot,” Thomas retorted. 

Before Newt could come up with a sarcastic reply, Thomas was crashing into him. Thomas laced his hands through his hair and kissed him deeply, placing one leg in between both of Newt’s. He couldn’t help but let out a surprised moan, which made Thomas smile into the kiss. Newt grabbed at his waist and hips eagerly until Thomas broke away far too soon.

“What is it with you and pinning me up against my car?” Newt asked breathlessly, their faces still close enough that their lips brushed against each other.

“You make it hard to resist,” Thomas replied cheekily, pecking him once more before suddenly pulling away and getting into the car. Newt let out a frustrated groan and followed.

On the way to the restaurant, Thomas put on a playlist that consisted mostly of upbeat pop songs that Newt had never heard of. Thomas sang along to every single one and danced in his seat, though, so Newt wasn’t complaining. He only wished he wasn’t driving so he could film this and use it as blackmail material later on.

“So, what’s the occasion?” Thomas asked at one point.

“Our one month anniversary,” Newt responded, his tone a little sarcastic, though the sentiment was true.

“That’s tomorrow.”

“We have class tomorrow.”

“Smart. Knew I liked you for a reason,” Thomas joked.

Newt tried not to read too much into the use of the word ‘liked’.

When they arrived and walked in, Newt was finally able to appreciate how _nice_ Thomas looked. What with the kissing and driving, he hadn’t really had a chance to notice it before; he wore a light blue shirt over a white tee and dark jeans. A pretty standard outfit, Newt was well aware, but on Thomas anything looked at least above average.

“You look so good,” Newt mumbled as they waited for their table. He leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss against Thomas’ neck — payback for his teasing earlier. Newt didn’t miss the way Thomas blushed from his cheeks to his ears.

A little over half an hour later they were seated and eating their meals, chatting easily about the essay Thomas had completed last night. Newt was glad to see there was no trace of awkwardness between them after Minho’s meddling the day before; he felt confident that they _could_ just let the incident pass by them wordlessly, after all.

Newt had chosen the restaurant; it was a small Italian place he’d been to with Sonya and his parents when they came to visit for his birthday a few months back. He relayed this information to Thomas.

“Wait, did I miss your birthday? I don’t remember us doing anythin’,” Thomas asked, looking panicked with a mouthful of pasta.

“Charming,” Newt muttered, reaching over and poking at a spot on Thomas’ chin that had sauce spilling down it. Thomas smiled apologetically as he wiped it off. “No, you didn’t miss it. I didn’t tell anyone it was my birthday.”

“Why not?”

“Dunno. Wasn’t sure if they’d care. My parents were here, anyway, and Minho took me for drinks the day after.” Newt shrugged. Thomas looked scandalised.

“You’re joking,” he stated.

“I’m… not?” Newt replied, confused.

“You thought we wouldn’t _care_? Did you think I wouldn’t care? Why didn’t Minho tell any of us?”

“Tommy, calm down,” Newt laughed. “Birthdays just aren’t a big deal to me. Plus, twenty isn’t exactly an important one.”

“You’re _twenty_?” Thomas practically shouted. Newt shushed him desperately. “Do I know nothing about you at all?”

“Shut _up_ , you bloody drama queen. Yes, I’m twenty, I waited a year to come to uni— sorry, college. That way I could start with Minho and get myself on my feet a bit more after the _incident_.”

Thomas stared at Newt as if he was seeing him in a completely different light.

“Tommy, you’re scaring me.”

“Sorry! Sorry, it’s just… how did I not know this?”

“I don’t know,” Newt sighed. “Me and Minho kept it kind of quiet, I guess, so I didn’t have to explain things to people. Easier.”

“No, I know. That makes sense. But… why didn’t you tell _me_? Y’know, after we got together.”

“I honestly never thought ‘bout it,” Newt answered honestly. “Why, does it matter? That I’m a year older?”

“I— no, of course not,” Thomas said, face splitting into a mischievous grin. “Just surprised, is all. If anything, it’s pretty hot.”

“‘Scuse me?”

“My boyfriend is _twenty_.”

“Tommy, you’re nineteen. It’s not that different.”

“An older man.”

“Oh God, shut up.”

Thomas laughed and they finished off their meals in comfortable silence.

“Wait, do you know my birthday?” Thomas asked suddenly as their dishes were taken away.

“December second,” Newt answered almost immediately.

“Oh. So I’m just a terrible boyfriend.”

“Well, no. I came to your party. We were just friends then, so maybe I’m a good friend but a terrible boyfriend, who knows.”

“Shut up,” Thomas said with a smirk. “Stop trying to make me feel better and just tell me when your damn birthday is.”

Newt laughed. “Nineteenth of February.”

“Cool,” Thomas replied. And, after a hesitant pause: “I’ll give you a late present.”

“Oh yeah? When, Christmas?” Newt teased.

“Tonight.”

Newt raised his eyebrows questioningly and was only met with averted eyes and blushing cheeks; Thomas was clearly embarrassed by his own moment of boldness, seeing as they were in the middle of a fairly crowded restaurant. Newt tried to minimise his smirk as he spotted the waitress returning with their bill.

“Can’t say no to that, Tommy.”

 

“Fuck,” Thomas breathed out, lying on his back next to Newt with his forearm pressed against his face.

“You said that already, Tommy,” Newt smirked.

“I know, but — _fuck_.” Thomas rolled over and leaned to kiss him before letting his head fall onto Newt’s bare chest, just above his ribs. Newt laughed and began tracing a hand up and down Thomas’ spine.

“So eloquent. But pretty accurate.”

“It’s just — not that it’s not always good — but…” Thomas mumbled into Newt’s skin, soft breaths and gentle touches making his skin burn with pleasure.

“Yeah. That was pretty bloody fantastic.”

“ _Yes_. Holy shit, I love you so much.”

Once again, the two boys felt each other’s bodies tense at exactly the same time as Thomas’ words sunk in.

“You what?” Newt replied automatically without putting much thought into how unenthusiastic it sounded.

Thomas slowly rose his head but failed to meet Newt’s eyes; his gaze darted anywhere but.

“I— oh, Jesus. I didn’t mean to— wait, no, I do _mean_ it but I wasn’t going to… fuck.”

Blushing profusely, Thomas let his head fall into his hands with a groan. Newt’s initial shock eventually wore off and his face melted into a smile.

“Bloody hell, Tommy. You kinda stole my thunder.”

“Huh?” Thomas’ head snapped up again.

“Was waitin’ for a good moment, but I guess post-sex is as good as any.”

“What are you on about?” Thomas whispered, a trace of hope lingering in his wide eyes.

“I love _you_.”

Newt thought back the urge to add a playful insult onto the end of that sentence.

“You— do you? Actually? Like, not just because you feel under pressure after what Minho said—”

“Tommy.”

“Sorry, sorry, ruining the moment. _Fuck_. Say it again,” Thomas whispered, crawling up Newt’s chest until he was hovering directly over him. Newt smirked and carded one hand through Thomas’ hair, the other resting at the small of his back.

“I love you, Tommy. Thomas. Greenie. You bloody idiot.”

“I’m _your_ bloody idiot,” Thomas grinned against Newt’s lips.

“Don’t say bloody. Sounds weird in an American accent.”

“Shut up. _I love you_.”

Their lips finally met in a bruising, heated kiss that somehow managed to also be loving and meaningful. Newt felt as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders; one that, truthfully, he’d been carrying around for far too long, now. But all that time hiding those three words from the boy on top of him seemed worth it when Thomas began peppering kisses all over his face, whispering them over and over again.

_“Iloveyouiloveyouiloveyouiloveyouiloveyouiloveyouiloveyou.”_

**Author's Note:**

> hi i know this is short but i had the idea and just ran with it until it got tired
> 
> hope you enjoy!!!
> 
> in case it wasn't clear, this is set one month after 'whatever i lack, you make up' lol
> 
> thanks for the inspo gabrielle my luv
> 
> <3


End file.
